As the signatories to the Covenant of Mayor submit their Sustainable Energy Action Plans, and begin the process of reducing their CO2 emissions beyond the EU’s 20% by 2020 targets, it is worth looking at some of the support tools available to help participants in the Covenant take-stock of their CO2 emissions, and formulate the best plan to reduce them.

The European Commission has recently recognised the European Energy Award (EEA) as an efficient implementation tool for Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs) within the context of the Covenant of Mayors. In doing so, the European Commission has acknowledged the quality management and certification system of the European Energy Award which has been developed within previous European programmes.

The EEA is a qualified instrument for steering and controlling communal energy policy in order to review systematically all energy-related activities.

The EEA consists of two main elements: a quality management system for communal energy-related services and activities; and the certification and awarding of energy-related achievements.

Depending on the degree of implementation of possible measures, participants are awarded either the European Energy Award – if 50% of the possible measures are implemented and finalised – or the European Energy Award Gold – if 75% of the possible measures are implemented and finalised.

For more information on the European Energy Award, please visit: http://www.european-energy-award.org/Home.59.0.html

Another methodology currently available to Signatories of the Covenant is being utilised in the EUCO2 80/50 project, which was initiated by the Network of European Metropolitan Regions and Areas (METREX) – a Supporting Structure of the Covenant of Mayors. The methodology provides a comprehensible overview of the interdependencies of CO2 emission sources, energy conservation and the use of renewable energies. The model also allows for the comparison of a variety of different reduction and substitution strategies, making it easy to evaluate the efficiency of each approach.

For more information on the GRIP process or the EUCO2 80/50 project, please visit: http://www.eurometrex.org/ENT1/EN/Activities/activities.asp?SubCat1=EUCO2